Top 10 Dangerous Hackers of The World
#10. Gary McKinnon
He was a computer systems administrator but was unemployed. In 2001, he started accessing computers systems which reportedly belonged to the US military. After acquiring access to the computers, he deleted some vital files from the computers. According to US government, McKinnon had caused damages worth thousands of dollars, as he damaged the systems that controlled missiles. The officials claimed that this was the biggest attack attack on computer systems in U.S by a sole person.
#9. Michael Bevan and Richard Pryce
These boys were of British origin and in 1996, the duo began to access computers illegally belonging to US Air Force, NASA & NATO. The duo were responsible for huge damage to the systems as files were moved and deleted. Surprisingly, the duo also broke into a research facility in Korea and ditched the information regarding nuclear programs into USAF while they were moving the files, it could have resulted in the war between North Korea and US but data was also stolen from South Korea as they would have blamed US and would have carried attacks against U.S.
#8. Kevin Mitnick
He was the one of the popular hacker of all time. Kevin broke into various computer systems and servers in several years. He mostly broke into systems of telephone and computer companies, and he would copy sensitive data and modify it within computer servers. Kevin also hacked email accounts by stealing passwords, by doing this he was able to read emails, and he became a most wanted criminal in the US before he was arrested in 1995. Initially, he was a most wanted hacker and now he works in the security firm where he helps websites and organisations to secure from hacking attempts.
#7. Vladimir Levin
Since many hackers attack systems of military or other computers to discover sensitive data or for another purpose. In 1994, Levin did same as he as he acquired access to Citibank network in which was able to steal $10 million from the stolen accounts. Levin hailed from Russia, and he was arrested in the UK and he was deported to the US where he was put behind the bars for three years. In the meantime, Citibank bank managed to retrieve $400,000 of the stolen amount.
$6. Michael Calce
#5. Jeanson James Ancheta
Regular hacking attacks include breaking into computers to use them for different illegal purposes which are known as a botnet. Similarly, Ancheta managed to confiscate about 500,000 machines. Later he was detained in an operation by FBI, and he was put behind the bars for five years.
#4. Adrian Lamo
Adrian Lamo carried out hacking from Internet Cafes, Libraries or coffee shops and was a mobile hacker. However, he did it for his entertainment or to summon anyone. He used to hack into a computer system and then notify the admin of the network about the vulnerability in his/her system. He claimed to be an expert by after attaching his name to the database of the “New York Times.” He was also held responsible for leaking government to Wikileaks. He was later arrested in the year 2003.
#3. Owen Walker
He is commonly known as AKILL, Walker was a very talented hacker who carried numerous attacks on various websites and computer systems in several years. Moreover, he was also held responsible for developing the Akbot virus, as this virus permitted him to acquire control of about million of computers across the world to use them to carry attacks. Experts claim that this virus caused damages of about $26 million.
#2. Albert Gonzalez
Albert was born in Cuba and he was blamed for the largest theft of credit card and ATM numbers from 2005 – 2007. According to authorities, Albert stole card details from more than 170 million persons after injecting code into computer systems which he had accessed. After getting access to the data illegally, Albert carried transactions and withdraw money from the targeted accounts. He caused damages of more than $200 million which include theft of cash and damage to computer systems.
#1. Astra
The ASTRA is not the real name of the hacker, as his real name has not been yet released. However, Greek police hinted that he was a 58-year-old mathematician living in Athens Greece. Since 2002, he was responsible for various computer attacks and he further came to light after he broke into systems of Dassault which is a French Military organisation. After breaking into the systems of Dassault, Astra man sold the censorious details on aircrafts, weapons to other persons. According to prosecutors, Astra man had caused damages of more than $360 million. So, this is the list of dangerous hackers of the world. If you have something more to add, you are welcomed to mention it in the comment section below.
